Looking for a sauce for squash gnocchi

Cafe Society
1

So it looks like I got myself a boyfriend. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful guy, and hey, he’s actually a grownup! I’m ecstatic.

So I’ll be cooking dinner for the first time tomorrow. I’m vegan, he’s… not. I’ve got no problem cooking chicken, steak, or anything else, but he really wants (or says he wants) me to cook up something vegetarian so he can try it out. My plan is a salad, followed by my tried-and-true recipe for butternut squash gnocchi, and perhaps dessert of some sort.

Now, the salad will be spinach or mixed greens, dressed with berry-champage vinaigrette and topped with strawberries, pear, and either (lightly candied and toasted) almonds or pecans.

The gnocchi is so delicious, but when I make it for myself, I never make a sauce for it. I just get kinda lazy and don’t really want to make a batch of sauce I won’t use. So, I’m thinking that the tomato basil sauce I normally make for pastas just wouldn’t jive with the squash flavour. I’m looking for something to complement, but not overshadow, the squash. Walnut cream sauces seem to go well with butternut squash pasta, but I’m looking for something a little lighter. And I do have a perfect “cream sauce” recipe with tofu and soy milk, but I think it might taste kinda freaky-deaky to something who’s never had tofu before. Walnut pesto maybe?

So really, I’m looking for:

  • advice for the salad; if you have any suggestions that you think would be more romantic/impressive for a first date, please share!

  • a sauce suggestion.

  • should I cook up some meat or something as well for him? Would most people find this filling enough? I eat very little, so I’d consider this a big meal, but I’d like to know what others think.

  • should I do dessert? I’m thinking that since I’m putting strawbs in the salad, I’ll just get a big thing of them and do, I dunno, balsamic marinated strawberries. With crushed ladyfinger biscuits. Or maybe just fondue.

Thanks very much everyone!

2

Normally, when I do squash ravioli, I toss them with a simple brown butter and sage sauce. Just heat 2 tbsp butter until the milk solids turn a light brown, then toss in a few juliennned fresh sage leaves, heat briefly. That’s it, then just toss the pasta in it or drizzle over. If you want to make it lighter, you can add some vegetable broth, but the sage and the nuttiness of the butter play well off the sweetness of the squash. This is traditional in the Piedmont region of Italy, and I horcked the recipe out of some food magazine that had an article on Piedmont years ago. Enjoy!

3

Don’t cook up any meat for him. He has expressed interest in trying a vegetarian meal which you have fixed, let him. If you usually eat very little, fix twice or three times as much for him as you would for yourself, but don’t fix any food you usually wouldn’t eat. I think you are wise to stay away from tofu as a first dish–but then I’m a meat eater who has a mental block about tofu.

If your relationship evolves to the point where you frequently eat meals together, that’s the time to consider fixing a chicken breast for him with a side of gnocchi while you just eat the gnocchi.

4

Either sage butter or balsamic butter are the traditional choices. I like mushrooms, shallots and garlic sauted in butter with butternut squash. Mind you I am too lazy to make gnocchi of any description and just serve the sauce over baked butternut pieces.

5

Guys, butter sauces aren’t really the best choice for a vegan, traditional or no.

I do agree that light is the way to go here, so as not to overwhelm the squash. So just sautee the choices named above with olive oil instead, and you’ll be good to go.

6

Yeah but Amaranta said “but he really wants (or says he wants) me to cook up something vegetarian” not vegan, and I use butter all the time when I cook for my vegetarian nephews and their girls.

7

Sure, but perhaps she’d like to have some too.

Just presenting an option.

8

Here’s the thing. I entertain people all of the time, and I have a rather diverse group of friends with different dietary needs. They range all the way from vegans to devout Mormons, though these folks seldom eat together.

We do take reasonable care to accomodate everyone we can. Usually this is just a simple matter of loading up on the veggie side dishes, or having soft drinks available in addition to the beer and wine.

In this case, vegetarian can become vegan just by doing the sauteeing in olive oil, which tastes nice anyway. There is no reason not to do it apart from personal choice.

9

I’d also usually do a butter and sage sauce, but as Mr. Moto points out, olive oil works well do. Some other additions could be carmelized onions, shallots or garlic. Here’s a basic recipe for it:

4 Tablespoons butter or olive oil
12 Sage leaves
3 Garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt and white pepper

In a hot sauté pan, combine the butter, sage, and garlic together. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes or until the butter starts to brown and the garlic is golden. Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with chives, chopped pecans or pine nuts.

10

Thanks so much everyone. Sorry, I should have been clearer about looking for a vegan sauce. Beadalin, that olive oil and sage sauce looks perfect, I’m going to use that one. And I’ve decided on red wine marinated strawberries for dessert - I’ve got a nice zinfandel that I think would work very well for this.

Now to decide on wine for dinner, hmm…

11

Try port wine with the strawberries, or add a little bit of Grand Marnier to the zinfandel.

12

Great! Let me know how it turns out for you. And if you’re so inclined, I’d love to see your gnocci recipe. :slight_smile:

13

Oooh yum. But curse you for adding more decisions for me to make! :wink:
And the recipe:

[ul]
[li]2 medium russet potatoes[/li][li]1 cup mashed squash*[/li][li]salt[/li][li]pepper[/li][li]nutmeg[/li][li]1 cup flour[/li][/ul]

First, I pour myself a glass of wine and then put some opera music on. I dunno, it makes everything more fun. If you’re lucky enough to have a handy assistant to refill the wine glass so it doesn’t end up all flourly, all the better.

I bake the potatoes whole until they’re soft. Then I scoop the insides out into a bowl, mashing them with the squash and adding seasonings to taste. You have to do this while the potatoes are still hot; I’ve got baker’s fingers so I never seem to wind up with burnt fingertips but do be careful. So mash mash mash. Then I add the flour a little at a time til the dough is kinda sticky, but kneadable (is that a word?). If you need to, add a bit more flour, but keep in mind that more flour make less tender gnocchi. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes, knead knead knead, and then roll out onto your floured countertop. I recieved a marble slab a couple of years ago, and it really makes bread/pasta making much easier.

Anywho, so roll out the dough to a rectangle shape. I like it to be about… hmmm, where’s my ruler… 1/2 inch thick or so. Cut the rectangle into 1 inch strips. Then, toss some more flour onto that counter, and makes snakes out of those 1 inch strips. It’s like Playdoh, but you can actually eat it! Well, not yet. So take those “snakes” and cut them into almost-but-not-quite 1 inch pieces. Gnocchi! Almost!

So take your little almost-1-inch pieces, grab a fork, and press the gnocchi into the, you know, curve? of the fork. Does that have a name? Eh, you know what I mean. Now you’ve got a cute little curved gnocchi with ribs on one side. Awww. Place your gnocchi on a floured baking sheet. Don’t let them touch.

When you’re ready to cook 'em up, drop into a large pot of boiling water. They don’t take very long, and they should rise to the surface when they’re done. Fish 'em out, serve em up, yum.

Coupla things:

*Roasting squash, in case some people have never done it before: take your butternut squash, cut it in half, remove the seeds and stringy stuff, and rub the cut sides with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Put the squash cut side down on a baking sheet with sides, and toss in a 375 degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes, til it’s nice and tender. When it cools, scoop out the insides and mash 'em like a potato.

This was one of those recipes where I’d been making a particular recipe with eggs for ever, and then planned to make it for a nice dinner and realised I had no eggs. So I tried it with just the potatoes, squash, and flour, and loved it. I’ve been making it this way ever since. May not be the most authentic, but eh, whatevs.

If I’ve missed some glaringly obvious step, lemme know. I’ve made this recipe so many times I could do it blindfolded, but trying to type it out is kinda hard. Plus, you should see these hilarious hand movements I’m doing as I figure out how to describe things, including miming the fork-pressing part. I’m so awesome.

14

Another simple and delicious way to serve them could be with some slow roasted sweet cippolini and garlic. Don’t peel or cut the onions or garlic, coat them in olive oil, roast them at medium heat for a couple of hours- get some color and sweetness. Then peel and cut them and throw them in some butter with the gnocci and finish with a few drops of balsamic and salt and pepper.

15

Ooops. I see somebody already posted that suggestion. I shoulda read everything.

16

Oh, man, that sounds yummy. Where can I find someone to make it for me? :smiley:

17

You could pare off a small portion of the squash gnocchi dough and modify it into a dessert. Make a batter of the dough by mixing it with a little extra butter, sugar, milk, and melted marshmallows. Mix it well into a smooth but sticky batter and roll the gnocchi in plain breadcumbs. Spoon the batter into some deep oil, fry until golden brown and puffy, roll in cinnamon sugar.

18

And I thought I’d add that while looking for a sauce recipe, I came across my favourite cookbook typo ever:

It’s still making me giggle.

19

It’s probably too late, but the fresh pasta place that I love to go to usually pairs romesco sauce with butternut squash ravioli. I’ve never made it myself because up to a couple of years ago, I could never find the recipe and I gave up. Now, googling it finds a ton of options. Here is one, chosen because I subscribe to the magazine and haven’t yet made a bad recipe from it.

Romesco is a lovely garlic, almond, olive oil, and tomato sauce. There can be other ingredients in there, but I think it’s those that define the sauce.